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“If there is any other worldly beings in here with us, please make your presence known.”
That was usually the entirety of Jeff’s day. Wake up, make breakfast, prepare for a seance, back to sleep and repeat. Well, that was usually his day, sometimes he didn’t sleep for days, spirits pestering him to speak to him. It wasn’t as overwhelming when performing a seance, he could credit that to the paintbrush or marker in his hand, helping to control how many spirits came into contact with him.
Jeff became used to the spirits and his power a long time ago, first realizing that he had a special ability when he was a boy. His family knew about his power, and he and his brother Matt would try to work themselves out of situations by putting the blame on the spirits.
When Matt was older, he began to take up witchcraft, using and honing the old magic to aid him. It excited Jeff that his brother would be almost like him, both brothers delving into the supernatural, both using their talents to help each other. But that all changed when an incident drove a wedge between them, blaming each other and blaming themselves, Jeff then found solace with the spirits, his bond with them becoming stronger and they became part of his everyday life, even comforting him during his transition.
Eventually Jeff realized he could use his abilities for a part time job, but it was difficult for him to use the board, and tarot cards felt weird in his hand. One night however, while sketching on a piece of scratch paper, Jeff could feel a spirit’s strong presence. It felt stronger than the spirits he usually felt, and Jeff let his hands do the work as he drew. When he finished, the man was met with a sketch of woman, and he could feel who she was.
And that’s when it hit him.
Jeff began to treat channeling like an art, and in a way it was. Channeling the spirit’s energy, creating a replica of life, and summoning them. For a time, that was all he did alone, channeling and living normally. When he began to figure out he also had the ability of levitation, he trained himself to hone it, working non stop on it,
At least that’s how it used to be before he heard that knock on his door. When Jeff opened his door, there was a young man on his porch. The kid looked fresh out of high school, with a mop of curly brown hair on his head. He looked almost unsure as he asked, “Are you Jeff Hardy?”
“First you need to tell me who you are.” Jeff demanded, caution laced in his voice. He couldn’t be too careful, especially after the fuck up that happened years prior.
The kid sighed softly, rolling his eyes a bit. “My name is Aleister, I was sent by your brother to train me a bit.” He explained. Those words confused Jeff, he hasn’t spoken to Matt in years, why would he send this kid to him?
“I’ll bite, why did he send you?”
Aleister hesitated a bit, before saying, “Well, I can talk to ghosts and demons, but since he can only do so much with witchcraft, he couldn't train me. So he sent me here.” Aleister's eyes nervously shifted around, and his voice dropped to a soft whisper "He also misses you, but don't mention that."
A part of Jeff didn’t want to believe what he was told, however he knew Matt, or at least he’d like to think he did. Sending Aleister sounded like something Matt would do, and while he wished his brother would have contacted him out of nowhere to notify him, this was still a nice surprise. Something in the back of Jeff’s mind told him that perhaps Aleister could help mend the broken bridge between him and his brother.
The dark haired man moved besides the door, opening it just a bit wider, and gestured Aleister to come in. “Well? We’ve got work to do.” A small grin broke out on Aleister’s face, stepping into Jeff’s home slowly, flinching slightly when Jeff clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll be a spirit medium in no time.”
-
Days turned to weeks, weeks into months, and then months turned into years. During that time, Aleister came out as non binary, discovering that they could enhance their powers with tattoos, and they honed them in those years. What surprised the both of them was that Aleister had a second ability.
Jeff thought it’d be a normal morning as he walked to the living room, stirring spoonfuls of sugar in his coffee mug. It had been another long night of conversing with spirits, Jeff asking for their advice, and he needed the coffee. When he looked up however, the mug fell from his hand, and his mouth gaped.
There, standing in the middle of the room, was Aleister levitating a couple of books. Aleister was moving books. Aleister was telekinetic. “What the fuck?!” Jeff yelled, startling the younger man, causing the books to fall with a thud and papers to scatter everywhere.
“I uh, well, um-” Aleister stuttered, face heating up slightly. He looked like a deer in headlights, eyes shifting downwards. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention this!”
“No! It’s okay!” Jeff snapped out of his daze, a grin breaking out on his face. “This is good, now we know what your second ability is.” Aleister deflated slightly, sighing in relief,
and that caused Jeff’s stomach to turn a bit. “Why’d you think I’d be mad at you?”
“Well, we’re supposed to be open and shit, for you to help me tap my potential. I thought you’d be upset with me.”
Jeff put a reassuring hand on Aleister’s shoulder, saying, “I’m not mad, I’m actually glad you’re teaching yourself because I can only levitate for fuck’s sake. I can’t teach you to lift stuff with your mind.”
“Thank god you’re not mad about it, honestly now that I think about it, it feels a little dumb that I hid it.” Aleister sheepishly said.
Jeff let out a soft chuckle, glancing at the fallen books. “Well I’m here for you y’know, but uh,” He gestured to the mess around the both of them. “We might wanna clean this up.”
“Oh, right.” Aleister took a deep breath, hesitantly extending a shaky hand out. Papers twisted and floated around, books sliding across the floor before lifting themselves up. Aleister settled the items on the coffee table wildly, scratching their neck a bit. “It’s not hard lifting light objects but I’m kinda nervous.”
“Makes sense, I am watching you lift stuff with your mind. Haven’t been practicing long?”
“‘Bout three weeks maybe.” Aleister replied, eyes in thought.
“Well, I know what we’re gonna start doing tomorrow.” Jeff said as they both heard someone knocking on the door. “C’mon, we’ve got work to do.”
The life Jeff had was simple, work, sleep, work on Aleister’s ability, Sure, some days were slow, but he liked those days. If only he knew how everything would change a week later.